Digital wallet companies like Paytm, Mobikwik won’t be roped in for toll collection
Payment technology firms like Paytm, Mobikwik and Citrus Pay are shut out of collaboration on toll collection on highways by the highways authority and the company executing electronic money collection at toll plazas. The payments company, National Payments Corp of India (NPCI), would go with full-fledged commercial banks, which appear to have covered a majority of the households that own cars, and truck drivers through debit or credit cards. “They (companies providing wallet services) might be interested, but the National Highways Authority of India has shown no interest and we have not suggested to NHAI to bring in non-banks,” said AP Hota, chief executive of NPCI, without specifying any reasons. The decision of NPCI, which is owned by banks, and the highway authority might be a blow to payment technology companies which have been eyeing businesses that originate at the governmental level. This could also be a sign of banks turning aggressive in their attempts to reduce the threat from these nimble technology firms. Digital transactions are growing so fast that giants such as China’s Alibaba are buying stakes in these firms. The value of transactions through wallets rose more than two-and-half times to Rs 2,251 crore in February from Rs 876 crore a year earlier. Total number of transactions jumped to 4.9 crore from 2.4 crore, data from the central bank showed. Mobile phones, which have become the preferred mode of transaction for the younger generation, saw the value jump toRs 46,473 crores in February fromRs 14,888 crores a year earlier. The numbers jumped to 4.3 crore from 1.9 crore. But some of the firms aren’t worried as they bet on the government’s thrust to use digital platforms for everything and say they could provide a superior technology. “Honestly, I am not worried, I am sure they will come around,” Nitin Misra, head of products at Paytm said. “There are cases where the government has been progressive in the past; RBI gave us the payment bank licence.” The implementation of a pan-India electronic toll collection system on national highways may help save Rs 87,000 crore, according to a joint study by the Transport Corporation of India and the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta. The study said the cost due to the time spent at toll points alone adds up to Rs 27,000 crore a year. The extra fuel spent on slowing down and stopping at checkpoints costsRs 60,000 crore. While NHAI has not considered the use of digital wallets for recharging of electronic toll collection tags, Mumbai-based payments company Citrus Pay intends to become the payment gateway for the inter-bank clearing house that NPCI will set up for the etolling across national highways. “Even if NPCI wants to have only banks on board now, I am sure it will not be very difficult to influence this policy. Once they see that our users far outnumber the users of banks’ payments instruments, they will turn around to get us on board as well,” said Upasana Taku, cofounder of mobile wallet company Mobikwik.
Karnataka ban on plastic use stumps quick service restaurants like Cafe Coffee Day, McDonald’s, KFC
Quick service restaurant (QSR) chains operating in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka have a huge packaging problem to grapple with. The state’s ban on serving and packing fresh food in plastic containers, effective April 1, means popular eating out and coffee chains including Cafe Coffee Day, McDonald’s and KFC have to change their packaging strategy overnight. This means food service businesses will have to switch to bio-degradable packaging, which restaurateurs say would increase costs to the tune of 18-30%, and would have to factor in additional costs if the move goes pan-India. Rahul Singh, founder of The Beer Cafe and representative of the National Restaurant Association of India, said: “Measures such as these have a cascading all-India impact. With lack of many workable options and not enough clarity, restaurateurs are working out sustainable solutions to comply with the new regulations.” Karnataka, with its young population has a high eating out and pub culture. Specialised tea cafe Chai Point’s chief executive Amuleek Bijral said: “The government should give a fixed timeline to all the restaurants to comply with the new guidelines. There are times when we have noticed that alternative packaging such as bagasse packaging isn’t working.” Chai Point has done away with plastic coated plates and introduced 100% plant material and bio-degradable bagasse-based plates and bamboo stick stirrers, while cold beverages it delivers will be done in glasses instead of plastic cups. “All such measures are more expensive and we are exploring ways to meet the extra costs. Either we will add the cost for deliveries or price our premium products factoring the packaging costs. Soon we will roll out all these measures across cities we are present in,” Bijral said. On average, bio-degradable packaging such as bagasse plates are 18-20% more expensive than plastic coated ones, while glass bottles are 30% costlier and rice and corn starch based spoons and forks are 15% more expensive. The country’s largest coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day’s group president, marketing, Bidisha Nagaraj said the brand is working on alternative solutions to certain plastic products that it has been using at its outlets such as cold beverage cups (typically used for takeaway orders), stirrers, straws and spoons. Likewise KFC and McDonald’s. A spokesperson for KFC said the firm is “supportive of this environment-friendly initiative to reduce plastic usage and is working with authorities to get complete clarity on the law, and find a cost-effective and sustainable solution”. McDonald’s India (west & south) managing director Smita Jatia said: “We are working towards customising our packaging to meet a holistic approach.” According to a report published by Freedonia Group, the packaging food service disposable market in India is pegged at $575 million by 2020. Delhi-based biodegradable tableware maker Ecoware cofounder Rhea Singhal, which supplies to leading hotels and QSR chains said the new law is expected to accelerate demand for such products. But the challenge, say restaurateurs, is lack of options. Rashmi Daga, founder of online food ordering startup Freshmenu said: “There are hardly any end-to-end options for biodegradable products.”
Brick-and-mortar wants the rule book thrown at e-commerce
The government may have defined the things an e-commerce marketplace can and can’t do bu the battle between online and offline re tail on this score isn’t over just yet. India’s brick-and-mortar retailers are preparing to lobby the government to make sure ecommerce companies are indeed following the new rules and punish them if they’re not. “In letter and spirit, we expect there would be major non-compliance by a lot of ecommerce players,” said Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani. The Retailers Association of India, which represents more than 1,000 brick which represents more than 1,000 brick-and-mortar retailers, including Shoppers Stop, Reliance Retail and Future Group, will be sending a letter to the government in the next two days lauding the efforts ai med at creating a level playing field but also urging appropriate action if the norms are being disregarded, said two people aware of the matter. Over the past year, RAI had sought to draw the government’s attention to the lack of clarity on the marketplace model used by ecommerce companies, saying this was a disguise for multi-brand, business-to-consumer (B2C) retail, which companies with overseas holdings are barred from under the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) policy. Ecommerce companies say they are platforms that connect buyers with sellers. RAI had petitioned the government to give clear policy directions on FDI in ecommerce with the aim of safeguarding the interests of retailers and brands.The grouping had approached the Delhi High Court last year after failing to get a response from the government in its quest for parity in FDI norms with ecommerce players, which have attracted billions of dollars in overseas funding using the marketplace model. Also read: Why the rules against heavy discounts will actually help the ecommerce bandwagon The association will argue in its letter that since inventory based ecommerce is explicitly prohibited under the rules, those selling groceries and private brands operating on that model should be asked to immediately cease operations. “While the notification said marketplace cannot influence sale price, most online retailers have private brands and can control their pricing or give huge discounts. This should not be allowed,” said one of those cited above. The rules also stipulate that an ecommerce marketplace can’t have one vendor or group unit accounting for more than 25% of total sales on the platform. This could have an impact on Amazon India as its marketplace is dominated by Cloudtail, partowned by the company . RAI’s letter will also raise the matter of advertising campaigns by online players offering guarantees. “The promises they offer today are untenable (under) the new policy,” said an executive. Marketplaces have to mention names, addresses and contact details of sellers in all communications, making for transparency. Marketplaces are also barred from offering discounts directly -these can only be made by vendors –in a move aimed at preventing predatory pricing. India’s three leading ecommerce companies -Amazon India, Flipkart and Snapdeal -have said that they conform to the rules.
Work on Jaipur smart city project to kick off from June 15
The work on smart city project in the city would begin from June 15. The first meeting of the board of directors of Jaipur Smart Mission Limited was held under the chairmanship of principal secretary Manjit Singh on Wednesday. In the meeting, the short-term and long-term projects, which would be initiated under the smart city mission were discussed. JMC CEO Ashutosh Pednekar, who is appointed as CEO of the special purpose vehicle (SPV) for taking forward the smart city proposal informed, “The strategy to implement the project was discussed in the meeting. Initially, there would be short-term projects and work will be started before June 15.” Listing few short-term projects, the company would take up public bicycle scheme (PBS), heritage facade, rainwater structures, smart toilets, digital signages work before the given deadline. Under the smart city mission, the development work in the Pink City will be carried out in two different strategic components: area-based development and pan-city development. Under the area-based development, an area of 650 acres of the Walled City (or old city) between the Albert Hall and the Jorawar Singh Gate has been identified for retrofitting. Modern infrastructure that is missing in the old city would be developed now. Under the pan-city development, the infrastructure outside the Walled City would be strengthened with improved facilities like solid-waste management and smart multi-modern mobility. Under the pan-city smart solution, a single problem for the whole city would be selected and smart solutions will be identified. Under the area-based development strategy, innovative solutions will be implemented either by re-designing or bringing some minor changes in a particular area. Under retrofitting, ideas would be implemented without altering any existing infrastructure of the area. The state government had proposed to spend Rs 2,403 crore for the city. Under area-based development, Rs 1,521crore was proposed to be spent, while Rs 819 crore for the pan-city development. Offical informed that the first instalment has been released by the Centre for the project, which is Rs 186 crore for Jaipur and Rs 159.20 crore for Udaipur.
Bhendi Bazaar redevelopment will take 10 years: Maha CM
The city’s most ambitious cluster redevelopment projectthe Bhendi Bazaar makeoverwill take at least 8-10 years to be completed, said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The project is being executed by the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) and is estimated to cost Rs 4,000 crore. In a written reply to the legislative council, Fadnavis said the project is spread over 65,880.4 sq m, which includes 280 plots that house 245 buildings. In all there are 3,200 residential tenements and 1,250 shops. Fadnavis said the master plan for the project was approved by the BMC in January 2015. The project has been divided into nine clusters and work has already begun in two clusters. Abbas Master, chief executive officer of SBUT, said work has begun on clusters one and three that face J J flyover. He said the trust on its own has begun the work of excavation and piling. “We are currently in the process of appointing the main contractor for executing the project,” he said. “Of the 3,200 residential tenants we have shifted 1,700 to transit camps and on rental basis. Similarly, 450 of the commercial units have been shifted. This is a brownfield project spread across 16.5 acres and has to be done in phases. We will bring back those who are in transit buildings once the buildings are ready and then shift the others out and begin work on the next clusters. We are planning to construct 17 towers,” he said. The detailed plans will also be approved by the BMC in phases.
How Are Brazil and India Affecting the Crude Oil Market?
Crude oil price drivers: In this part, we’ll discuss bullish crude oil drivers, specifically in Brazil, India, and Japan. Bullish catalysts for crude oil prices Crude oil production in Brazil has fallen 0.9 MMbpd (million barrels per day) over the last six months due to huge debt, corruption scandals surrounding Petróleo Brasileiro Petrobas (PBR), and lower crude oil prices. Secondly, slowing global crude oil production has also boosted crude oil prices in the past two months. To learn more, read Why Key Oil Producers Are Slowing Their Production. The rise in gasoline demand also supported crude oil prices. To learn more, read Gasoline Stocks Fell for the Seventh Week: What’s the Impact?. Steady Chinese crude oil imports will support oil prices. Read How Will Slowing Production Impact China’s Crude Oil Imports? NYMEX-traded WTI (West Texas Intermediate) December 2020 crude oil futures contracts were trading at $47.97 per barrel on April 5, 2016. The forward curve suggests higher crude oil prices in the future. The IEA (International Energy Agency) forecast that India will surpass Japan as the third-largest crude oil consumer in 2016. India’s crude oil consumption will grow to 4.2 MMbpd in 2016, as compared to 4.1 MMbpd for Japan in 2016. In its monthly report, OPEC estimated that the global crude oil demand grew by 1.5 MMbpd to 92.3 MMbpd in 2015. Demand is expected to grow by 1.3 MMbpd to 94.2 MMbpd in 2016. Impact on crude oil stocks and ETFs The uncertainty in crude oil prices affects oil and gas producers like Ultra Petroleum (UPL), Whiting Petroleum (WLL), Northern Oil and Gas (NOG), and SM Energy (SM). The volatility also affects ETFs and ETNs like the DB Crude Oil Double Short ETN (DTO), the Direxion Daily Energy Bear 3x ETF (ERY), the ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (SCO), and the Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Energy ETF (RYE).
Congress demands JPC in KG basin as CAG picks other holes in Gujarat’s development
The latest CAG report on Gujarat has highlighted many such gaps in PSU projects in the states as well as development schemes, raising doubts about the ‘Gujarat model’. A decade ago, one of Gujarat’s blue chip public sector firms, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC), had announced, “India’s biggest gas find in 30 years” when it struck gas in the Krishna Godavari (KG) off the coast of Andhra Pradesh. Narendra Modi who was then the chief minister of Gujarat had announced the find of 20 trillion cubic meter (tcf) gas at a press conference in Ahmedabad, June 2005. Ever since, issues connected with GSPC and the KG basin have generated ripples across political circles in the country, the latest being CAG’s rap to an “inexperienced” GSPC for investing Rs 195.76 billion till March 2015 in the KG block. Since 2012 CAG has been pointing out how the cost of exploration of gas there has been higher than the outcome. The latest CAG report on Gujarat has highlighted many such gaps in PSU projects in the states as well as development schemes, raising doubts about the ‘Gujarat model’. When the CAG reports were tabled in the Gujarat Assembly towards the end of the budget session last month, the Congress MLAs had been suspended and were not present. CAG not only criticised GSPC for surrendering 37 of the total 64 oil and gas exploration blocks during the four year period between 2011-15, it also found loopholes in the working of several other state PSUs including Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC), Gujarat State Warehousing Corporation and another big ticket project, MEGA (Metro Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad Company). The auditor has devoted almost 15 pages to GSPC in its report on Public Sector Undertakings. Regarding the company’s exploration activities in KG block, CAG stated: “The company did not properly address the risks associated with cost and technology which has resulted in uncertainty regarding the future prospects from the block when an investment of around Rs 195.76 billion has been made as on March 2015.” The Congress party has taken CAG’s criticism as an opportunity to get back at Modi under whom GSPC had started exploring the KG basin. However, back then, the then Union Petroleum minister Mani Shankar Iyer had not reacted negatively to the 20 tcf gas find. The Congress on Tuesday demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe and said “nearly Rs 200 billion” has been squandered away” under Modi’s watch in Gujarat. It is not the first time CAG has found fault with the way GSPC functioned. In a similar report submitted in March 2012, CAG rapped GSPC for “numerous faulty investment and destructive administrative decisions” that led to a loss of Rs 70 billion to the company. It observed how the company’s exploration cost in the KG basin was 12.81 times higher than the estimated cost and the outcome much below that claimed. GSPC was also criticised for drilling wells “without obtaining approval of management committee/GoI for the field development plan.” This year, apart from GSPC, CAG also picked on a few other PSUs in Gujarat. Critisising the famed PPP (public-private-partnership) model that Gujarat government has been using to build modern “bus-ports” that are a mix of plush bus stations built alongside commercial structures by GSRTC, CAG pointed out the “undue favours” being dished out to private developers involved in building such central bus stations across the state. It also took on the state for the “infructuous expenditure” —totalling to Rs 4.45 billion — incurred after the present management of the Ahmedabad metro rail project redrew the metro routes in 2014. This was the fourth time the metro route was altered. Apart from the public sector units, the country’s top auditor also picked holes in the state’s healthcare system. CAG said that the state government’s hospitals were short of essential drugs like insulin and Hepatitis B vaccine and the drugs supplied by Gujarat Medical Service Corporation Ltd were found to be substandard. CAG has also pointed out loopholes in several skill development schemes running in Gujarat. Talking about the Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS) — a flagship scheme of Ministry of Labour and Employment, the auditor noted: “The Directorate of Employment and Training failed in its objective to train more youths under CTS despite initiating new ITIs and increasing intake capacity in existing ITIs.” It pointed out that the “high drop-out rate (of about 40 percent) may be attributable to non-availability of adequate machinery, manpower, etc in ITIs, which also adversely affected the quality of training.” According to CAG, the Gujarat government was not taking adequate steps to protect its wetlands and other natural tourism sites. The watchdog came down heavily on the state government for uncontrolled poaching at Nal Sarovar bird sanctuary near Ahmedabad and others parts of the state.
Shell India offers diesel at market price
Shell India, a diversified international oil company, has now introduced its ‘Shell Diesel’ in the domestic market. The announcement by the company comes against the backdrop of diesel price deregulation. The Shell Diesel with fuel economy formula is available at market price at Shell fuel stations across six states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Assam. Shell currently has 82 operational fuel stations in India with 27 outlets in Bengaluru. “The Shell Diesel has been designed to ignite and burn more effectively than standard diesel thereby giving extra miles at no extra cost,” a company release said. Shell prides itself in offering international quality fuel, exact quantity and friendly customer service like free windshield cleaning and under bonnet checks at each of its outlets, it added.
Cabinet okays giving powers to oil PSUs to develop crude import policy
The Union Cabinet has approved giving powers to public sector oil companies to develop their own crude oil import policy. “The Cabinet has approved that oil PSUs shall be empowered to evolve their own policies for import of crude oil consistent with the guidelines of the Central Vigilance Commission and get them approved by their respective boards,” an official statement said. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Communications and Information Technology, said after the Cabinet meeting, “The crude import policy needs to be modified to bring it in tune with current needs. The current market practices for purchase of crude oil on spot basis also need to be adopted to compete effectively in the market. The current policy has certain limitations and restrictions in this regard which has now been done away with.” Prasad added that the measure will increase the operation and commercial flexibility of oil companies and enable them to adopt the most effective procurement practices for import of crude oil.
First leg of KMP expressway opens after 7-year delay
After a delay of nearly seven years, the first leg of Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway – Palwal (NH-2) to Manesar (NH-8) – was opened to traffic on Tuesday. This will work as a bypass for vehicles coming from Jaipur side towards Faridabad or Agra and similarly for those heading towards Jaipur and Mumbai from Agra or Kolkata. This is likely to reduce traffic on Delhi roads since at present the vehicles coming from all NHs use the national capital as transit. For the first two months, users don’t need to pay for using this 52 km access-control expressway stretch. However, later cars will need to pay Rs 1.3 per km while heavy vehicles have to pay Rs 4.5 per km as toll charge. Four toll plazas have been built to ensure that commuters pay for the stretch they travel rather than paying for the entire corridor. “Once we complete the WPE and the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE), traffic on Delhi roads will reduce by half and there will be less air pollution,” highway minister Nitin Gadkari said after inaugurating the project. Later in the day, addressing industry leaders at a CII summit, he said there is a proposal to develop logistic hubs along the two expressways so that big godowns can shift out of Delhi. Haryana government officials said though the remaining Palwal and Manesar stretch would be completed in the next one year, the already completed stretch can work as a bypass for Delhi. “We have very good highway network – a mix of NH and state highways – that commuters can use to travel between NH-2 ( Delhi-Agra) and NH-1 (Delhi-Panipat). They will end up travelling only 10 km extra, but can avoid Delhi’s traffic congestion,” said an official. He added they will publicise this alternate route for commuters to save their time and also for benefit of Delhi, which has become one of the most polluted cities across the globe. The Haryana government has already earmarked 1 km on both sides of KMP as controlled area for future development and a series of “theme cities” have been planned. Now these projects will revive and help push economic activities, sources said. On Tuesday, Gadkari also promised major relief to lakhs of residents of Palwal by announcing to build an elevated corridor on NH-2 covering all the four intersections within the city. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal made this demand. The minister also promised to undertake construction of a bridge across the Yamuna on Hasanpur road connecting Greater Noida.